Carson City

Carson City is the capital of the US state of Nevada, named after the frontiersman Kit Carson. The city was founded in 1858, and it became the state capital after Nevada achieved statehood in 1864. The town originated as a stopover for California-bound emigrants, but developed into a city after the Comstock Lode silver strike was discovered in the mountains to the northeast. In the 1950s, the once-important Virginia and Truckee Railroad tracks were removed, and Ormsby County was abolished in 1969, leading to Carson City becoming an independent city. The city spans from the California border at Lake Tahoe to the Sierra Nevada, and it had a population of 54,742 people in 2016, with 66.6% being white, 23.4% Hispanic, 3.2% Asian, 2.2% Native American, 2% multiracial, 1% African-American, .3% Pacific islander, and .2% other.